Like so many others out there, I was truly worried what Ninja Theory had in store for fans of the Devil May Cry series. As a man who has played and grown up with each installment, I was immediately put off by the visual scenery being much lighter and free of the gothic overtones, the fact that this is rebooting the entire series after four successful entries, and the sudden change of Dante to supposedly look like the president of Ninja Theory. So, of course, when the demo hit the Xbox Live Marketplace, I quickly grabbed it up to see how they would eviscerate my favorite gaming anti-hero, but hesitated to see the results. But, we’re we all wrong in the assumption this would be an absolute waste of time and money, or is this a fun creation despite decimating the Dante lore and character we’ve grown to love?

Right away, I was skeptical that I wouldn’t enjoy the game at all. The bright visuals and backgrounds immediately put me in the wrong atmospheric state of mind, not to mention the Jigsaw meets Anonymous hacker group boss addressing the demons of the world. Immediately, I didn’t care, and tried to bypass these really rushed and heavily jumpy cut scenes that cram the general concept of the game into a two, three minute CGI clip that should have been hashed out longer than the time span of a Family Guy joke set-up or punchline. Once all that was done, I began to make my way through the city and happen upon my first set of puppets. The first battle of the stage introduced me to schematics of battle, as well as some other nifty tips about dodging and grabbing distant enemies. And it didn’t take long for me to appreciate what felt like the tightest controls that the series has ever had.

The further in I got, the stronger the enemies became, and the more I realized I also needed to focus on destroying the demonic cameras that would appear here and there throughout the town. With the new Angelic Lift move being a little hard to get down at first, I truly was having fun. Of course, I hated having to get up towards the cameras to take them out, as anyone else would in an instant. But, the varies red and blue hughes throughout the game as you move on wound up being a nice, stylish touch that worked in favor of this reboot, though I definitely was still missing the darker tones of the previous installments.

I had a blast going through the first stage either way, and was antsy to move onto the next one after clearing the church that was falling apart in order to drop into the airy underground pitfall. The second available level to play was a larger boss battle. I began running in and out, ducking and jumping over the attacks from the spider creature amid laying down combos with heavy attacks by holding down the right trigger, and mixing them with typical Y and B juggling assaults. Again, I found this challenge to still be rather fun, and not quite as hard as previous entries when it came to taking her out. I used the Angelic Lift a few times to reach the side ledges, and after two quick battles to destroy the wires that seem to tether her, one more full health battle remained before she was done. Again, I used what combos I could between the Y and B buttons, eventually widdling it’s health down, and grabbing it with my demon hand by the head once more. I advanced forward, and was greeted with this spider creature tearing through the ground for no reason at all, perhaps to set up a secdond boss fight that the demo cuts away from to quickly advertise the game once more.

Once I finished going through these stages a few times, I realized just how much fun I was truly having. While most of the visual aspects are changed, much of DmC: Devil May Cry pays tribute to the fundamental elements of the original. I also loved how seamlessly the action clips and other story driving elements pushed the game along without really interrupting the pace, though sometimes it all felt crushed together a little too much. What once was a title I quickly shrugged off and showed no interest in had instantly become a game at the top of my 2013 wish list. If you have any doubt about whether this will be an adventure you want to take or not, definitely check out the demo that has been made available. One time through, and you’ll probably still have your gripes, but more than likely find a new appreciation for what the team at Ninja Bee have brought to the table for this pointless, yet potentially really enjoyable reboot.